Accreditation
According to the California Commission on Teacher Credentialing, "when an institution (college, university, school district, county office of education or other entity) wants to offer one or more educator preparation programs to prepare candidates to teach or provide services in the California public schools, the institution and each of its credential programs need to become approved by the Commission. This process is called accreditation."
This process, California's educator preparation accreditation system, is designed to focus on the demonstrated competence of California's educators, and features ongoing data collection and a 7-year cycle of activities (see Accreditation Schedule and Activities link below), including at least one site visit. Success of the accreditation system is measured by the continuing viability of programs that produce effective educators for California's students. North Coast School of Education (NCSOE) stakeholders help to ensure this through the continuous improvement cycle of assessment and implementation represented in the NCSOE Unit Assessment System Cycle.
Accreditation Schedule and Activities (see Yellow Cohort for NCSOE cycle).
Accreditation Reports
Preconditions are requirements for initial and continued program approval. Unlike standards, preconditions specify requirements for program compliance. The basis for a precondition is either statute, regulations, or Commission policy. Preconditions are reviewed prior to 1) initial institutional approval, 2) initial program approval and 3) years 1 and 4 during the seven year accreditation cycle.
- NCSOE Preconditions Reports 2021
- Preconditions for General Institution
- Preliminary Education Specialist Intern Programs
- Preliminary Multiple and Single Subject Intern Programs
- Teacher Induction (General Education and Education Specialist)
- Designated Subjects - Adult Education
- Designated Subjects - Career Technical Education
- Preliminary Administrative Services Credential
- Administrative Services Credential Clear Induction
- Preconditions for General Institution
- NCSOE Preconditions Report 2017 (pdf)
- Preconditions Report Preliminary Report of Findings (pdf)
Program Standards address aspects of program quality and effectiveness that apply to each type of educator preparation program offered by a program sponsor. Program standards contain statements describing the nature and purpose of each standard and language that details the requirements that all approved programs must meet. Program sponsors must meet all applicable program standards before the program application may be approved by the Commission.
- Preliminary General Education - Multiple and Single Subject Teaching Credential
- Preliminary Special Education Teaching Credential
- Teacher Induction
- Administrative Services Credential - Preliminary Program Standards and Clear Induction Program Standards
- Designated Subjects Teaching Credential - Adult Education
- Designated Subjects Teaching Credential - Career Technical Education
- Designated Subjects Teaching Credential - Driver Education and Training
- Designated Subjects Teaching Credential - Supervision and Coordination
The Program Review process, which occurs during Year Five of the accreditation cycle, provides the Commission and the Institutional Review Team with evidence that an institution is consistently meeting program standards.
The Common Standards deal with aspects of program quality that cross all approved educator preparation programs. The institution responds to each Common Standard by providing pertinent information, including information about individual programs.
- Common Standards Narrative 2018
- Common Standard 1 - Institutional Infrastructure to Support Educator Preparation
- Common Standard 2 - Candidate Recruitment and Support
- Common Standard 3 - Fieldwork and Clinical Practice
- Common Standard 4 - Continuous Improvement
- Common Standard 5 - Program Impact
- Common Standards Preliminary Report of Findings
- Common Standards Addendum
Program Annual Reports Cards (Title II)
Biennial Reports
The Biennial Report is a way for programs to demonstrate how a credential-granting institution is utilizing data to assess candidate competencies and to review its program. The biennial report processes are closely related to revised Common Standard 2 (Unit and Program Evaluation System), and revised Common Standard 9 (Assessment of Candidate Competence).
- Site Visit: March 25-28, 2019